Passenger Airplane Industry : Boeing Sells 60 Next-Generation 737-800s

The next-generation Boeing 737-800 appears to be world’s best-selling passenger airplane.

Boeing and the new leasing company Air Lease Corporation (ALC) have finalized an order for up to 60 Next-Generation 737-800s.

This order, first announced at the Farnborough Airshow in July, is for deliveries through 2017. In addition to 54 firm orders the deal includes six additional airplanes to be reconfirmed.

“Our management team has been working closely with Boeing for more than 30 years,” said Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, chairman and CEO of Air Lease Corporation.

“This order for Next-Generation 737-800s continues that great tradition. With this large and long-term commitment we’ll be able to offer our clients a most economical, fuel-efficient and versatile airplane, suitable for a variety of profitable missions.”

“The Next-Generation 737 is one of the world’s best-selling airplanes for a number of very good reasons,” claims Jim Albaugh, president and CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

“Airlines and lessors remain confident in the airplane’s ability to deliver outstanding, dependable operational and financial performance across the widest range of missions. We look forward to providing that continued value to Air Lease Corporation and its clients and to a long and successful continued partnership with Steven Udvar-Hazy and his new leasing company.”

Global Aviation Industry Future : Airline Industry Expects Economic Recovery

The global airline industry is making a robust economic recovery and will need $3.6 trillion in new aircraft over the next 20 years, Boeing Co. said Thursday, July 15 in its annual long-range forecast.

In all, airlines will need 30,900 new jets between now and 2029, with more than two-thirds of the demand for smaller single-aisle jets such as Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320, Boeing said in its 2010 Current Market Outlook.

Airlines have seen a rebound in passenger and freight traffic this year and should return to profitability in 2011, company officials say.

“For passenger traffic in 2010 we’re expecting to see a 5 to 6 percent improvement over where we were last year; in terms of cargo, somewhere around 14 percent or more,” Randy Tinseth, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president for marketing, said in a recent briefing in advance of Farnborough International Air show in Britain.

Airlines have been able to manage their way through the economic downturn fairly well by keeping costs down, Tinseth said. “We’re starting to see more airlines returning to profitability – returning to profitability really before we expected it,” he added Boeing’s 20-year forecast is slightly brighter than last year’s, when it predicted demand for 29,000 aircraft worth $3.2 trillion for 2009-2028. This year’s report says 21,160 single-aisle jets worth $1.7 trillion will be needed, along with 7,100 twin-aisle planes such as the 777, 787 and Airbus’ A330-340 family, worth $1.6 trillion.

The world will need 720 large aircraft such as Boeing’s 747 and Airbus’ superjumbo A380, worth $220 billion, and just 1,1920 regional jets – those under 90 seats – worth $60 billion.

The report, now in its 46th year of public release, is widely regarded as the most comprehensive and respected analysis of the commercial aviation market, and reflects the improving, yet still unstable conditions facing the industry.

It noted that commercial aviation has weathered many downturns in the past. Yet recovery has followed quickly as the industry reliably returned to its long-term growth rate of approximately 5 percent per year. Boeing expects the same resilience in the first half of 2010 as the industry rebounds from the recent severe downturn. Passenger traffic is projected to rise 6 percent for the year, with similar annual growth rates for 2011 through 2014.

Responding to improving demand, global airline financial performance is forecast to improve to the break-even point in 2010, following a $10 billion net loss in 2009. Asia-Pacific airlines, reflecting the region’s strong economic growth, are forecast to lead the world in profits during 2010, followed closely by North American airlines, which are exercising capacity discipline. Emerging markets are expected to be profitable, led by Latin American airlines. Europe is the only region forecast to lose money in 2010, owing to the lagging economic outlook and airspace disruptions from volcanic ash.

Worldwide economic activity, reflected in the global gross domestic product (GDP), is the most powerful driver of growth in commercial air services and the resultant demand for airplanes. The global GDP is projected to grow at an average of 3.2 percent per year for the next 20 years. Reflecting the economic growth, worldwide passenger traffic will average 5.3 percent growth and cargo traffic will average 5.9 percent growth over the forecast period. To meet the demand for commercial aviation services, the number of airplanes in the worldwide fleet will grow at an annual rate of 3.2 percent.

Air transport throughout the world continues to change in response to market opportunities and challenges. New airline business models and the dynamic growth of air travel in the emerging economies throughout the world are diversifying the demand for airplanes. As global air travel declined in 2009, there were still many markets and business models that experienced growth. Over the next 20 years, 77 percent of demand for new airplanes will come from outside North America, with about 34 percent of deliveries going to the Asia Pacific region.

The Boeing forecast continues to predict that the greatest demand for new aircraft, by market value, will come from the United States, followed by China. Remarkably, the United Arab Emirates-with a population of less than 5 million, yet home to several highly competitive airlines-will be the third largest market by value.

The need to replace older, less efficient airplanes accounts for 44 percent of the projected market for new airplanes. The 2010 forecast anticipates 13,490 airplanes will be replaced over the next 20 years. This reflects rising fuel prices and the increasing economic burden of using older, less capable, and less efficient airplanes. At this replacement rate, 84 percent of the fleet operating in 2029 will have been delivered after 2010.

Today, there are 11,580 single-aisle aircraft in operation around the world, representing 61 percent of the total jet fleet. The single-aisle fleet is forecast to more than double, reaching 25,000 airplanes or 69 percent of the total fleet by 2029, largely reflecting the rapid expansion of air services in Asia, the rise of intraregional air travel in emerging economies, and the growth and geographic expansion of the low-cost-carrier model.

Among the 30,900 aircraft to be delivered over the next 20 years, 21,160 (69 percent of the units and 47 percent of the value) will be single-aisle airplanes. Demand for single aisles comes not only from growth markets, but also for replacing older aircraft such as the 737 Classics, A320s, and McDonnell Douglas MD-80/90s. It is forecast that there will be a wave of single-aisle aircraft retirements in the 2015 to 2017 timeframe as many of these older aircraft reach 25 years of age – a typical retirement age for jet aircraft.

The fastest growing market will be for twin-aisle airplanes. This segment is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 4.4 percent. The twin-aisle fleet will grow from 3,500 airplanes in operation today to 8,260 airplanes in 2029. In 20 years, much of the in-service fleet will be newer aircraft, such as the Boeing 787 and 777, which offer more passenger comfort, improved efficiency, and better environmental performance than the airplanes they replace.

The next 20 years will see 7,100 new twin-aisle deliveries, which is about 23 percent of the total number of airplane deliveries for the period and 45 percent of the total market value. About 40 percent of the demand for twin aisles will come from the Asia Pacific region. The imminent introduction of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and, later of the Airbus A350, is also driving demand, as these new aircraft offer significant efficiency improvements over the aircraft they are replacing.

There is expected to be little change to the size of the large aircraft fleet over the long term. The number of large airplanes in the fleet will grow from about 800 today to 960 in 2029. Nearly all the gain in large aircraft is coming from the freighter market. The number of large passenger airplanes in operation today is around 500. The large airplane passenger fleet will remain at approximately that level over the long term.

The 720 new large airplanes forecast to be delivered represent only 2 percent of the total aircraft deliveries. Yet with a value of $220 billion, large airplanes account for 6 percent of the total market value. About 43 percent of the deliveries will go to Asia, with China and Southeast Asia accounting for most of the delivery demand. The Middle East, with its already substantial backlog of aircraft in this category, accounts for another 23 percent of the large airplane market. More than half of those airplanes are already on order.

Aviation Industry Future : Boeing Plans to Sell Seats On 2015 Space Flight

The Boeing Co. said Wednesday that it was entering the space tourism business, an announcement that could bolster the Obama administration’s efforts to transform NASA into an agency that focuses less on building rockets and more on nurturing a commercial space industry.

Boeing — which is developing a capsule that it hopes will take NASA astronauts to the International Space Station and on Tuesday was awarded a five-year, $1.2 billion extension of its contract with NASA covering engineering work on the station — announced that it will offer for sale any seats that NASA does not need. Boeing officials said their first flight is aimed for 2015.

The entrance of an aerospace giant like Boeing perhaps marks the transition of space tourism from a fanciful pursuit of startup entrepreneurs to a mainstream aerospace market.

“We’re ready now to start talking to prospective customers,” said Eric Anderson , co-founder and chairman of Space Adventures Ltd. , a Virginia-based space tourism company that would market the seats for Boeing.

Current NASA plans call for four space station crew members to travel on each flight. The Boeing capsule, called the CST-100 , would have room for seven, leaving perhaps three seats available for space tourists.

Boeing and Space Adventures have not set a price yet. Anderson said the cost would be competitive with the Soyuz flights. Guy Laliberté , founder of Cirque du Soleil, spent about $40 million for a Soyuz trip to the space station last year.

But the prospects that anyone who buys a ticket will ever get to space hinge on Congress, which is considering two versions of a bill that support very different visions for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

A bill written by the House’s science and technology committee to lay out the direction of NASA for the next three years would largely follow the traditional trajectory for human space flight.

The bill calls for NASA to build a government-owned rocket — probably the Ares I , which NASA has been working on for five years — to transport astronauts to the International Space Station.

The competing vision, embodied in President Barack Obama’s 2011 budget proposal for NASA, focuses instead on nurturing private companies that want to develop the space equivalent of airlines. NASA would then simply buy seats on those rockets to send its astronauts to the International Space Station.

Competition, the thinking goes, would drive down the cost of getting to space, leading to a profitable new American industry and freeing more of NASA’s budget for the deep-space missions.

China Southern Airlines Takes Delivery of Fifth Boeing 777-200F

China Southern Airlines, a member of SkyTeam and one of the largest airlines in the People’s Republic of China, has taken delivery of its fifth Boeing 777-200F freighter – the second in two months.

With the addition of these new aircraft, China Southern’s freighter fleet now stands at seven, including two Boeing 747-400F and five Boeing 777-200F dedicated freighters.

With this expanded freight capacity, China Southern Cargo plans to soon add another U.S. route between Shanghai (Pudong International Airport) and Los Angeles.

With this anticipated expansion, China Southern Cargo will offer customers three European destinations: Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Vienna as well as two US destinations, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Boeing Co Again Postponed Deliveries of Boeing 787 Aircraft

Boeing Co. again postponed the delivery of its first Boeing Commercial Airplanes 787 to the middle of the 2011 first quarter, compounding a string of delays for the jetliner that is already more than two years past its original scheduled debut.

The latest delay is the result of engine delivery problems, Boeing said in a statement early Friday. The Chicago company said in July it expected to deliver the plane late this year, but it warned that might not happen. It had said at that time that a series of problems, including supplier work related to parts of the tail and instrument issues that might push the first delivery “a few weeks into 2011.”

The 787’s first customer, Japan’s All Nippon Airways, said in a statement the delay is regrettable especially “given the success of the flight test program so far.”

“However, we trust that the time will be used to deliver the best possible aircraft in the shortest possible time frame.”

The 787, which Boeing calls the Dreamliner, is made of many composite materials designed to make it lighter and more fuel-efficient than comparable planes already in the sky.

It lists for $150 million to $205.5 million, depending on the model, but major customers routinely get discounts.

Boeing said the delay won’t affect its financial expectations. Boeing spokeswoman Yvonne Leach said the company is working closely with British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce to expedite engine deliveries, but current flight tests are continuing as planned.

Rolls-Royce said the delay was not related to the reported failure of an engine in a recent test.

“We have been informed by Boeing that the currently planned dates for Trent 1000 engine deliveries will not support their latest flight test program requirements,” Rolls-Royce said in a statement Friday.

However, Rolls-Royce confirmed “that the engine availability issue is unrelated to the test bed event which occurred earlier this month.”

The FlightGlobal website, an aviation news site, reported this week that a Trent 1000 engine suffered an “uncontained” failure – meaning debris broke out of the engine casing – during a test on Aug. 2.

Aircraft Manufacturing Company Reviews : Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Cancellation Orders Airbus and Boeing Aircraft

As has been reported Emirates Airlines via Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) have canceled order Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Cancellation of aircraft orders this disadvantage largest manufacture aircraft of Airbus and Boeing.

Some analysts commented, cancellation of aircraft orders by DAE caused firm faces financial crisis. The financial crisis faced by DAE sourced from internal corporate shareholders. One is a subsidiary the Dubai Government entity, Dubai World which astonished the world financial markets when it asked for its debt payments to be delayed by several months, forcing the conglomerate to seek aid from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to service some of its $23bn-plus debts.
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Uni Arab Emirates Aircraft-leasing Company Cancel Orders Boeing Airplane

Aircraft-leasing company in United Arab Emirates cancel orders aircraft from Boeing Co. The number of Boeing aircraft orders are canceled as many 26 units including 15 units of Boeing 787 aircraft. Boeing 787 is one of the latest products from Boeing Co.

The aircraft maker has now suffered more cancellations than new orders this year for the 787, a plane that has not yet begun flying in commercial service.

Also since last month, Boeing has lost 10 orders for wide-body 777s, typically used on long flights including international routes, and one single-aisle 737. It received two new orders for the 737, usually flown on shorter domestic hauls. (more…)

Boeing Get Order 92 Aircraft at Farnborough Airshow

Boeing took the wraps off 92 more airliner orders Wednesday at the Farnborough Airshow in the United Kingdom as both domestic and foreign airlines and leasing companies continued their quest for new, efficient capacity.

Boeing, which builds its airliners in Everett and Renton, got orders from American Airlines for 35 more 737-800s to replace its aging fleet mainstay, the MD-80.

By the end of 2012, American will have 195 737-800s in its fleet. The next-generation 737, built in Renton, is 35 percent more fuel efficient than the MD-80.
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Boeing 787 Dreamliner International Debut at Farnborough International Airshow

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing will introduce the latest technology for commercial aircraft, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Boeing 787 Dreamliner will make its first international debut at Farnborough International Airshow.

Senior Vice President, Boeing, said “We have chosen Farnborough as a place to highlight the breakthroughs and innovation capabilities of both our commercial aircraft and defense, space and security business. We look forward to an optimistic mood this year as an industry leader meet amid signs of economic recovery. ”

The 787 flight-test airplane, ZA003, will touch down at Farnborough the morning of Sunday, July 18 and will remain on static display through mid-day July 20. (more…)

All Nippon Airways Net Income Target 5 Billion Yen Early Next Year

All Nippon Airways Co., Asia’s second-largest carrier by sales, predicted a return to profit next fiscal year as the company cuts jobs and adds flights.

The airline, also known as ANA, expects net income of 5 billion yen ($55 million) in the year beginning April 1, it said in a statement today. The Tokyo-based carrier widened its net loss forecast for the current fiscal year to 65 billion yen from 28 billion yen.

All Nippon will shed about 1,000 jobs, merge subsidiaries and slash spending on advertising as part of an 86 billion yen cost-cutting program. The carrier will also boost flights as it takes delivery of new planes, including Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliners, and as Tokyo’s Haneda airport, the nation’s busiest, opens a new runway.
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